Applications to blame for half of all enterprise web problems

Posted: Fri, 12/10/2007 - 00:00

Claranet to make presentation at IP07, Earls Court, 11AM 16th October

Up to 47 per cent of problems encountered in developing and maintaining enterprise web systems arise from applications, according to new research from Claranet, the Managed Services Provider for business. Applications were by far the greatest single threat to the availability of companies' business-critical IT networks.

The research also found that enterprise IT managers spend an hour and a half each day maintaining application performance and availability. This means that applications maintenance costs businesses 540 hours a year in staff time alone.

This maintenance involves a range of laborious activities, including constantly monitoring servers, regularly patching them, backing them up and administering user accounts. They often have to contend with a variety of servers and different operating systems which run a wide variety of applications.

Claranet, the Managed Services Provider that develops, supports and manages communication and information technology for business, now takes full responsibility for application maintenance with its new Managed Applications service. The service optimises the performance and availability of off-the-shelf applications, providing businesses with a range of technologies, from Microsoft products like SQL and Exchange to non-Microsoft applications such as Java and Oracle.

Claranet Managed Applications takes away the worry of managing complex IT infrastructures. Claranet designs and builds bespoke network architectures, while its expert support teams monitor and manage their clients' applications servers - and the environment in which they operate - 24 hours a day to ensure the smooth day-to-day running of mission-critical software, leaving IT departments free to concentrate on more strategic activities.

Server management is a time consuming and mundane task. Research has shown that 50 per cent of IT departments in the UK spend around 20 per cent of their time on server administration. Outsourcing to Claranet's Managed Applications enables IT staff to work more efficiently by focusing on work that is more valuable for their business.

Olivier Beaudet, Chief Operations Officer, Claranet Group

Highly experienced technical support staff are on hand to advise and support services that are customised to their clients' needs and fully scalable to meet the demands of growing businesses. There is no "one-size-fits-all" package - businesses only pay for the applications they use. The service provides the same level of personalised support that has seen Claranet win awards for its customer service. Although all Managed Applications services from Claranet are individually tailored to each client's needs, they offer a standard Service Level Agreement (SLA) of less than 20 minutes for fault detection, and under two hours to fix problems.

Olivier Beaudet will be giving a presentation on managed applications at this year's IP07 exhibition at Earl's Court between 11.10 and 11.40 AM on Tuesday 16th October. The educational presentation will focus on how the technology needs of enterprises have evolved beyond mere data connectivity to new mission critical applications. Olivier will discuss the pain that companies experience when they manage their applications infrastructure in-house and how these problems can be relieved by outsourcing to experts like Claranet.

The launch of Managed Applications is part of an ongoing process of expansion and development that has seen Claranet evolve from an Internet Service Provider in 1996 to the Managed Services Provider of today.

About Claranet

Claranet was established in 1996 as a dial-up Internet access provider in the UK. The company's sustained profitability has resulted in continuous reinvestment, transforming Claranet into a multi-national managed service provider.

Today Claranet provides flexible and tailored network infrastructure that performs to the requirements of its 300,000 customers across six European countries and the US. Claranet customers have confidence in their connectivity. They are served by experienced, innovative and dependable technicians.

About Olivier Beaudet, Group Chief Operations Officer, Claranet

Olivier Beaudet is an expert in managed services, data management and IT outsourcing services.

He has more than a decade's experience of working in senior roles in France and the UK IT industry.

Before joining Claranet, Olivier was for ten years Chief Executive of Artful, a managed applications services provider which he launched in 1997. Before founding Artful he was multimedia developer and project manager at the French company Havas, and helped to developed Havas Online, France's first low-cost ISP.

Olivier has had particular success in piloting Artful through the dotcom bust and establishing it as a major player in the industry, winning major accounts such as Airbus, Veolia, Hermes, Universal Music, Canal Plus and Vivendi. Claranet acquired Artful in 2005; in 2007 Olivier was appointed Claranet Group Chief Operations Officer, with the responsibility of unifying Claranet's operations in Europe and the USA.